This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation. Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law.
Madison
Workers Compensation Panel
John D. Baggett v. Firemen's Fund Insurance Company
01S01-9603-CH-00055
Authoring Judge: William H. Inman, Senior Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Robert S. Brandt,
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The complaint alleges "[t]hat on or about the 22nd day of June, 1993, the Plaintiff, while operating a printing press, had his left thumb amputated when it became caught in the press." In point of fact, he suffered an "avulsive injury of the distal aspect of his thumb, just distal to the IP joint with nerve and vascular damage within the thumb proximal to the point of severance." The thumb fragment could not be re-attached and the amputation was surgically completed at the level of the interphalangeal joint, resulting in the loss of one-half of the thumb. The defendant admitted the material allegations of the complaint and essentially conceded that the plaintiff was entitled to recover benefits for the loss of a thumb. Notwithstanding that the complaint did not allege disability to the hand, the issue at trial was whether the injury so affected the hand as to justify an award for benefits thereto rather than for the loss of a scheduled member. The Chancellor limited benefits to the loss of the thumb; the employee appeals insisting that he is entitled to benefits for resultant partial permanent disability to his hand. The treating surgeon was Dr. Bruce Shack, a reconstructive specialist from the Vanderbilt Medical Center. He testified: Q. Now, Doctor, have you formed an opinion based upon a reasonable degree of medical certainty whether or not this injury Mr. Baggett suffered will result in any permanent impairment? A. Yes, sir, I have. Q. Will you tell the Court what that opinion is, sir. A. Well, this is a relatively straight forward type of case where the amputation through the interphalangeal joint of the thumb allows us to utilize the Guides that are set forth in the American Medical Association's Guides to the Evaluation of Permanent Impairment and basing Mr. Baggett's impairment on the loss of the thumb through the interphalangeal joint, I had rated him as 2 percent impairment of the hand. And, of course, that using the conversion tables equals an 18 percent impairment of the upper extremity and 11 percent impairment of the whole person. Q. Now, the injury to the thumb and hand as you've indicated, is that in anyway affected by the upper extremity? 2
Davidson
Workers Compensation Panel
Richard Caldwell v. Activated Metals & Chemicals, Inc., et al.
03S01-9602-CV-00015
Authoring Judge: John K. Byers, Senior Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Ben W. Hooper, Ii,
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with TENN. CODE ANN. _ 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting to the Supreme Court of findings of fact and conclusions of law. The trial court awarded plaintiff 35% permanent partial disability to the body as a whole. Defendant challenges the trial court's finding that plaintiff's impairment arose out of a work-related injury and the trial court's consideration of the testimony of the plaintiff's expert witness. Plaintiff, 43, finished the eleventh grade. He has a varied work experience, having worked in restaurants, construction, as a stockboy, a janitor/security guard and as a salesperson of draperies and linens. He testified that he suffered an injury in the nature of an occupational disease from inhaling aluminum oxide dust and the dust of a nickel aluminum alloy at his workplace, resulting in his having to stop working and seeking medical care on July 28, 1993. He began working for defendant in January 1993. Plaintiff was referred to Barry Frame, M.D., a specialist in thoracic and cardiovascular surgery, who testified in this case by deposition. He diagnosed pneumonia with complicating empyema (or lung abscess). Apparently, plaintiff suffered a pneumothorax, or puncturing of the lung. Dr. Frame opined that this pneumothorax was the result of infection, a pneumonia resulting from the aspiration of some anaerobic organism. No organism was cultured. When asked if plaintiff told him that his condition started as a result of exposure to a metal compound at work, Dr. Frame testified that he was aware that there was some consideration of an occupational factor, but that plaintiff should be referred to a pulmonologist to evaluate that; he had been concerned with dealing with the pneumonia and its complications. Chaim Cohen, M.D., a specialist in occupational medicine, examined the plaintiff at the request of his attorney. He examined plaintiff, reviewed material safety data sheets for compounds to which plaintiff had been exposed, reviewed 2
Knox
Workers Compensation Panel
William Valdez, & Miguel Pineda v. Lang Environmental
01S01-9605-CH-00085
Authoring Judge: Per Curiam
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Robert S. Brandt,
This case is before the Court upon the entire record, including the order of referral to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel, and the Panel's Memorandum Opinion setting forth its findings of fact and conclusions of law, which are incorporated herein by reference.
This is a negligence case involving the head-on collision of two vehicles. Appellants James and Stella Rose were struck by the car of Appellees Dennis and Janice Rice when Dennis Rice applied his brakes to avoid hitting a vehicle which turned across his lane. The trial court granted summary judgment in favor of the Rices. We reverse.
Henderson
Court of Appeals
Fireman's Fund Insurance v. Taylor Barton Mills
03S01-9601-CH-00008
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Dennis H. Inman,
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. In this appeal, the employee contends the evidence preponderates against the trial court's finding that his injury was caused by intoxication. The panel concludes the judgment should be reversed. On February 15, 1995, the employee or claimant, Mills, was working at his job as a machinist using a large lathe to bore a specifically sized hole into a fifty inch bull gear. After stopping the lathe to take a measurement, he accidentally - perhaps negligently - brushed against the lathe's starter button. The lathe started and the claimant's clothing was caught in the turning lathe. As a result, he was injured. Tests done at the University of Tennessee Medical Center shortly after the accident revealed a high level of cannaboid concentration from probable chronic use of marijuana. The claimant admits to being a chronic user of marijuana and had admittedly smoked two or three "joints" on the evening before the accident. Additionally, two witnesses testified that they thoughtthey saw him from some one hundred feet away, sharing a joint with another employee on the morning of the accident, before beginning work. The claimant and other employee denied it. The employer knew Mills was a heavy marijuana user and had fired him for thirty days on a previous occasion for "suspected" use of the substance, but re-hired him 3 days later at a higher rate of pay. An expert, without examining the claimant, opined from lab test results that marijuana intoxication was a possible contributing cause of his 2
Patricia D. Woodward v. American General Life & Accident Insurance Company
03S01-9512-CV-00138
Authoring Judge: Joe C. Loser, Jr., Special Judge
Trial Court Judge: Hon. Thomas J. Seeley, Jr.,
This workers' compensation appeal has been referred to the Special Workers' Compensation Appeals Panel of the Supreme Court in accordance with Tenn. Code Ann. section 5-6-225(e)(3) for hearing and reporting of findings of fact and conclusions of law. In this appeal, the employee or claimant, Woodward, contends the evidencepreponderates against the trial court's finding that her fibromyalgia was not causally related to her injury. The panel concludes the judgment should be affirmed. On July 23, 1992, the claimant was involved in a car wreck arising out of and in the course of her employment as a debit agent for the employer, American General. She suffered a mild strain of the neck, superimposed upon preexisting osteoarthritis. She was first seen by Dr. Sherrod, who made the diagnosis, then followed by Dr. Calvin Johnson at Wautauga Orthopedics. Dr. Johnson provided conservative care and assigned minimal permanent impairment. She was further treated by Dr. David Lurie, a rheumatologist, who diagnosed fibromyalgia but expressed no opinion as to whether her condition was causally related to the accident. The claimant was under Dr. Lurie's continuing care at the time of the trial. Her attorney referred her to Dr. Mark T. McQuain, a specialist in physical medicine and rehabilitation. Dr. McQuain's impression, as reflected in his notes, was: 1. Cervical degenerative disc disease,maximum at C4-5 and C5-6. 2. Generalized fibromyalgia/tension myalgia, post traumatic. 3. Patellofemoral degenerative joint disease, bilaterally. 4. Tendency for pain magnification. 2
This case involves the dismissal of a tenured teacher. Appellant John Timothy Enochs (“Enochs”) challenges his discharge by Appellee Dyersburg Board of Education (“Board”) from his position as a tenured teacher in the Dyersburg City School System. After a hearing, Enochs’ dismissal was affirmed by the trial court. In this appeal, Enochs claims that the trial court’s hearing and review of the Board’s dismissal violated the Teacher Tenure Act and his right to due process. We affirm the decision of the trial court.
